While the vast majority of Maltese students (between 2/3 to 3/4) have “positive, open and tolerant views towards foreign children and multicultural integration”, around a quarter are “still hesitant and resistant towards multiculturalism”, a research study on foreign children in Malta suggested.
Excerpts from a research study commissioned by the Office of the Commissioner for Children were revealed on Wednesday by commissioner Pauline Miceli prior to the full release to be conducted during a conference on 10 April.
The research study, titled A Passage to Malta, a Research study on the Health and Wellbeing of Foreign Children in Malta, consisted of 4 separate studies with about 2,500 foreign and Maltese children, making use of both quantitative or qualitative research designs.
The overall findings shared with the people present suggested that the majority of foreign children enjoy positive physical and mental health, amongst many other positive revelations, and they are even better off than native Maltese children in areas such as social, emotional & behavioral difficulties (SEBD) and bullying.
However, this does change when the region of origin is taken into consideration as asylum seeking African, Middle East and East Asian migrants see lower levels in such areas of wellbeing, whilst European and North American migrants not experiencing the same.
Interestingly, the language barrier was also split between this “North / South” divide. Northern students (European; North American) were having issues with Maltese, whilst Southern students (African; Middle East) were having issues with English.
This also translated to overall differences in their level of education and socio-economic status, type of accommodation, availability of social spaces, and access to local communities, and how they were viewed by their Maltese peers.
It was also noted that students from independent and primary schools have more positive views of foreign children, with those from Gozo having the least positive view.
Speaking at the press conference, Minister for Family Michael Falzon insisted that no matter what we say – the more time passes, the more we will have a cosmopolitan society.
The study needed to be analysed by looking at the whole process, Falzon said, noting that places with different cultures will have different influences.
Recommendations
Researches suggested a number of recommendations to help integrate students better in Malta, open-spaces and more social housing for example.
They also suggested “shared communal spaces to bring different children together”, and a one-stop-shop where there will be increased access to multidisciplinary services across health, education and social services are available.
Increasing resources to schools with a high number of foreign students, particularly asylum seekers, could also be beneficial, the study suggested, including the redistribution of foreign students in schools to reduce the concentration of students.
In spite of studies having suggested that diversity training actually makes individuals less tolerant, the study also suggests teacher education at both initial and inservices stages “where staff explore their own biases and prejudices and develop the competence to teach culturally and linguistically diverse class rooms”.